March 28, 2016

On Easter Sunday, in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, an Islamic terrorist bombing killed 70 people and injured hundreds of others. Most of the victims were women and children. Lahore, near the border between India and Pakistan, is the capital of the province of Punjab.

Pakistan
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The bomb detonated in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park (Garden of Iqbal—named for Pakistani poet Muhammad Iqbal), a large public space featuring walking paths, playgrounds, and carnival rides for children. The park was filled with families celebrating the Easter holiday. The bomb exploded near the park’s playground swings.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. The attack specifically targeted Christians, but most of the victims were Muslims. The terror group’s spokesman claimed they wanted to “send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore.” Sharif is from Lahore.

On the same day in Punjab, thousands turned out in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to protest the execution of a police officer convicted of assassinating the governor of the province, Salman Taseer, in 2011. Taseer had spoken against Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws, which sometimes lead to vigilante violence and extremism in the nation.